Windows 10 jettisons SafeDisc and SecuROM, may phone home about cracked games

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Two new bits of information have surfaced regarding Windows 10 and its various DRM and phone-home strategies. First, there’s news that looks great at first glance — Windows 10 no longer supports the much-hated SecuROM and SafeDisc. The downside of this news is that Windows 10 can no longer play those titles if the DRM hasn’t been patched out by the original developer.

This revelation comes from Microsoft’s Enthusiast Marketing Manager for Windows, Boris Schneider-John, who told German publication Rocket Beans the following:

“Everything that ran in Windows 7 should also run in Windows 10. There are just two silly exceptions: antivirus software and stuff that’s deeply embedded into the system. And then there are old games on CD-ROM that have DRM. This DRM stuff is also deeply embedded in your system, and that’s where Windows 10 says ‘sorry, we cannot allow that,’ because that would be a possible loophole for computer viruses.

“That’s why there are a couple of games from 2003-2008 with SecuROM, etc. that simply don’t run without a no-CD patch or some such. We can just not support that if it’s a possible danger for our users. There are a couple of patches from developers already, and there is stuff like GOG where you’ll find versions of those games that work.”

Mixed blessings

On the one hand, good on Microsoft for patching potentially dangerous loopholes in system security. While these programs weren’t actually rootkits, they embedded themselves in a manner similar to rootkits, and existed at a very low level within the system itself. Security researchers, as a result, are anything but fans of the technology. Gamers uniformly loathed them, as illustrated by this Penny Arcade comic.

No more of this? Hurrah! But can we get backwards compatibility?

On the other hand, however, this means a number of games, some released quite recently, will no longer work without new patches or game cracks. While SafeDisc hasn’t been used for several years, a number of games shipped with SecuROM, including titles like Fallout 3, Dragon Age II (EA attempted to camouflage this by calling it Sony Release Control), Oblivion, BioShock, the released version of Final Fantasy for PC in 2012, and dozens more over the years.

We therefore arrive at a hilarious moment in which Microsoft is advocating that people download game cracks for legally purchased content, chase developers for updates (despite the fact that many of the studios in question may have closed), or repurchase games on platforms like GOG, which don’t use DRM.

The other method of allowing these games to play in Windows 10 is to disable the driver signing security feature, but this basically kills the entire security model around driver signing for the purpose of playing an older title. It may work in the short term, but we can’t really recommend shutting off part of the entire operating system’s security model to do so.

Meanwhile, in other news: Windows 10 reserves the right to scan a system for counterfeit games

Windows 10’s EULA has been attacked for its vastly expanded spying permissions that it grants to Microsoft, but one quote from a related EULA, the Windows Services EULA, apparently escaped notice until now. As discovered by Alphr, Section 7b of the Windows Services EULA states the following:

“Sometimes you’ll need software updates to keep using the Services. We may automatically check your version of the software and download software updates or configuration changes, including those that prevent you from accessing the Services, playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices. You may also be required to update the software to continue using the Services.”

This isn’t explicitly tied to Windows 10, but covers services like Skype, Office, Xbox Live, Bing, and Cortana. Whether or not the company would ever agree to scan for pirated software on behalf of other vendors isn’t clear, but they’ve explicitly given themselves the ability to do so — and it’s hard to imagine that the likes of the MPAA and RIAA won’t leap at the opportunity to bully them into performing such checks. Users with pirated copies of Office may not want to install them, either, since that software is likely governed by Microsoft’s Windows Services EULA. This EULA wasn’t explicitly tied to Windows 10, but it took effect on August 1, immediately after Windows 10 had shipped.

Xbox’s Windows 10 integration could take a hit if gamers balk at such policies.

It seems likely that this kind of arrangement will apply to games distributed through the Xbox Live service and available on PCs. It may also apply to any applications that are sold in the Windows Store and to Microsoft applications. Microsoft may not scan systems on an active basis for unauthorized software but could, for example, download new copy protection checks that would invalidate cracked copies of Office or other games already installed.

Classic gamers may choose to stick with Windows 7, assuming they don’t have a vintage DOS box or Windows 98 system hanging around, but this compatibility issue should’ve been disclosed prior to launch. As for whether or not MS intends to start scanning systems for pirated software, we’ll have to wait and see.

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